Psychiatric Evaluation of the Gang
by Queensbaby
Summary: Someone requested that Yugi see a psychiatrist and now she wants to meet all of his friends. How will she react to their stories? New Chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

"Well thanks Dr. Clarington. I don't understand why you keep wanting to see me, but it's nice to have someone to talk to." Yugi Moto finally stood up after lying down on the psychiatrist's couch for nearly half an hour. "Now you said that you wanted to speak with all of my friends in the next session?"

"That's right." The young woman slowly stood as well to escort Yugi from the room. "Now there's nothing to worry about." She walked him over to the door, gently placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I just want to see what kind of people you interact with to understand you better."

"Alright. I'll see you next week." Yugi jogged out of the office and down the street.

Back at the psychiatrist's office, Dr. Clarington took in a deep breath and sighed. "That poor boy." She had been in the medical practice for a long time and never had she had a patient as disturbing as Yugi Moto. Most of her patients seemed disturbed or lashed out, but he seemed like such a nice normal young boy. There was no way for her to break it to him, about what she thought. Dr. Clarington turned on her computer and began typing her report.

Psychiatric Report 1:

Subject: Yugi Moto

Analysis: After many discussions with young Mr. Moto, I have come to the conclusion that he may be in need of immediate medical assistance. He seems to have a serious case of schizophrenia, which may have rooted from a long period of seclusion from other people. Also, he seems to have low self-esteem due to matters of his height and suffering from denial of any problems he has. Removing him from his environment and giving him the necessary medicine and treatments may be a challenge due to his condition. Mr. Moto appears to be extremely "clingy" to the people around him (who will also be under evaluation). There is even suspicion that he may have developed a Dependant Personality disorder. There is also the matter of the alleged "Spirit" that lives in his chain. According to Mr. Moto, this "Spirit" is an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who wants to protect the world from evil people that want to take over it. The base of this problem seems to revolve around the game of Duel Monsters. Mr. Moto has even admitted to having befriended his cards, (may also root from at one time having a lack of friends) and "believing in the heart of the cards". Still he denies having any problems. It is in my professional opinion that young Yugi Moto is put under evaluation in an appropriate mental facility.

There. It was done. She didn't want to have to send this in. Maybe a discussion with his associates would change her mind about him. Then again maybe it might make things worse. She had to find out.

"What? No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Sorry Yug but this time you're on your own pal. No way am I goin' ta see some shrink." Joey stepped away from his friend and turned in the opposite direction. Yugi had been having a hard time getting anyone to come along with him to Dr. Clarington's office. Yugi sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him to catch up with his friend.

"Oh please Joey. I really need you guys to come along." Joey didn't stop walking as Yugi raced to keep up with him. "Could you at least slow down?"

"Yug, I'm no good with doctors. They creep me out." Joey finally stopped as he wondered. "And why do ya have to go to that place anyways?"

" Well the person who referred for me to come asked to remain anonymous and Dr. Clarington says that she wants to understand me better."

" Sorry Yug, but this time… I'm not so sure." Joey put his hands in his pockets and waited to hear what Yugi had to say. Yugi cradled his Millennium Puzzle close to him like a teddy bear as tears welled up in the small boys eyes. "Awe come on Yug." Joey placed a consoling hand on his shoulder but Yugi jerked away running blindly into the street. "Dammit! Well I guess I'd better round up the gang." Joey slowly headed in the direction of Tristan's house. "Man. THIS SUCKS!"

Later that day Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Bakura walked up to the Turtle Game Shop. When Yugi had first left a message on Tea's phone about his appointment, everyone had been avoiding him for the past couple of days. That is until he bumped into Joey. Now they felt guilty. Bakura rang the doorbell as Tristan took in a deep sigh and Joey remarked how much the predicament 'SUCKED' for the seventh time in the past half hour. After a few seconds Yugi answered the door. "Well it's about time. The appointment is at four o'clock so we'll meet here at three. Oh, and thanks for being such great friends. You guys are the best. We can overcome any obstacle as long as long as we stick together. See ya tomorrow, bye." And with that Yugi shut the door. Outside everyone was shocked. They had all been tricked into going to a shrink. Unable to fully comprehend everything that just happened they all just stood there. After a while Joey finally broke the silence.

"Oh, THIS SUCKS!"

The gang walked back to their houses slowly, still thinking about what had just happened.

"Man, I can't believe Yugi tricked us into going to see a shrink." Joey muttered.

"I know." Tristan muttered back. "We've all been dooped by a dwarf."

"Suckered by a short person." Joey joined in again.

"Hey come on you guys, we should have agreed to go in the first place. He's our friend and he needed us. Instead we acted like selfish little kids. But now we're going anyways and it will be just fine. Because our friendship will get us through." Tea argued at the two. Both Joey and Tristan turned to face Tea.

" You know, I'd really like to know where you get that stuff from." Tristan coolly commented.

"I know. That has to be some of the corniest shit I've eva heard." Joey agreed. Tea was about to speak when Bakura locked pinkies with her lightly tugged.

"It's alright Tea. I know you mean everything you say." Tea gave him a small kiss of gratitude for standing up for her, but it was short lived. "Even though you were the first person who tried to ignore him and the one who warned everyone else about it." Tristan and Joey burst into laughter as Bakura tried unsuccessfully to dodge Tea's relentless blows.

"Well here's where Bakura gets off." Joey managed to get out as they approached Bakura's house."

"Well then I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." Bakura said still trying to get away from Tea.

"Not so fast there." Tea answered. " I think we have to have a talk about our friendship." Tea grabbed Bakura's hand and led him towards the house. "So WE'LL see you guys tomorrow." Bakura looked nervous as the spunky brunette pulled him into his own house. Tristan and Joey snickered and gave out small hoots and woops at the pale boy.

"Uhh, Tea. I don't think its appropriate to- " but by then he had already been pulled inside the house. With the "lovers" gone, there was nothing else to laugh at as the two walked home. Joey was beginning to feel the insecurity of going to a psychiatrist again.

"Hey man. There's nothing wrong with any of us so don't worry, alright." Tristan tried to cheer his friend up a bit but it didn't work. "Hey, why don't you call Mai? I'm sure she could help you out more than I can." A smile grew on both of their faces.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Joey retorted, the devilish grin growing larger with every word. Tristan kept grinning and raised his eyebrows up and down in response.

"Well here's my stop. See ya tomorrow man." Tristan jogged up to his house and stepped inside. Joey continued to walk until he reached his own house. He slipped inside and crept up to his room, careful not to make too much noise. Grabbing his phone, Joey stripped down to his boxers and dialed Mai's number. He lay down in his bed as the phone rang on the other end. He was about to hang up when a tired voice answered 'what the hell?' on the other line.

"Ey Mai its Joey." Once again there was a pause and another "what the hell?' "Good you're listening. I have to ask ya a favor …"

Dr Clarington paced around her bedroom. She was very nervous. She never felt this nervous about the well being of a patient before. She just felt sorry that the boy was suffering from so many problems. He didn't look like the kind of person who needed to be under special supervision because of his encounters with "evil spirits". "Why couldn't he just have normal imaginary friends? Well maybe if I meet his real friends there can be an explanation made." She really did hope so.

Dr. Clarington, Joey, and Mai were not the only one's loosing sleep because of the appointment the next day. Yugi also laid awake wondering about the appointment. Yugi was staring at the ceiling when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't bother to turn to see who it was. "Hey Yami." Yugi's voice was filled with melancholy.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" The concerned spirit asked. It hurt him to see the boy that way.

"Nothing, its just … I'm afraid, I guess … about my appointment tomorrow. And I had to trick the gang into going with me. I mean … they might be angry with me now. I didn't want to resort to trickery but … I just really needed them to come." Yugi paused for a while to collect up his thoughts again. "I don't know why Dr. Clarington keeps asking me to come back." Suddenly it hit him like a bolt of lightning. It was so obvious. "Yami, you don't think … that she might think … that I'm crazy … do you?" There was fear in his eyes now. Yami lowered his head, closed his eyes, and folded his arms on his chest.

"Hmm, I think she might. Our story is not the most understandable one. And that is probably why she asked to meet with our friends. To evaluate how they react around you and what they think so that she can make her judgment." The fear in Yugi's eyes grew. "Don't worry Yugi. If you act like yourselves she'll see that you are sane. If we are all there to back up your story, she will have to believe it." Hearing this made Yugi feel better.

"You know what? You right! I just hope the guys aren't too mad at me."

"They're your friends. They'll understand."

"I just don't understand Joey." Mai walked down the block beside Joey still looking confused. "Why does the psychiatrist want to see you?" It was approaching 3:00 pm, as Mai and Joey walked down to the Turtle Game Shop together. He had explained everything the night before and asked if she would come with him. Being able to sense his anxiousness over the phone she agreed to come along … for moral support.

"I don't know all the details yet so guess we find out when we get there." Joey still sounded anxious. Mai lightened the mood with some humor.

"Oh, what's wrong kiddo? Ya need mommy to hold your hand down to the doctor?" She extended one hand out to him.

"Actually that doesn't sound too bad." The confused Mai gently held his hand as they continued to walk. "Well this is nice." Joey said after a moment. "But I was hoping you would hold my other hand." Mai stopped and looked at Joey, once again confused. How was she supposed to grab his other hand? "You know, the hand with one finger." He cracked a large cheesy smile and did his signature laugh. Mai's face dropped from confusion to disgust.

"You little perv. She went after him trying to inflict any damage that she could. As she tried to get him once in the face, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it a bit. Joey had become serious once again. "Oh now what?"

"I really do want to thank you for coming with me." The two looked into each other's eyes for a while longer and Joey brought their hands up to his face and kissed it. There was warmth between them that could be felt by anyone nearby. Joey squeezed her hand again. "Now … what to do with the my other hand?"

_slap_

"Tristan! Hey Tristan!" Tristan was walking towards the Game Shop when he heard his name being called. He turned in the direction of a black convertible that had slowed nearby him to see Serenity! His heart skipped a beat when he saw her smiling face looking back at him. "Hey Tristan, where are you headed?"

"Yeah Tristan. Where you goin'?" His skipping heart tripped on a root and fell with a hard thud as he realized that she was talking to him from the passenger's seat of Duke's car. Even worse, Duke was in the car with her … in the driver's seat of course.

"Hey Serenity. I'm headed over to the game shop to meet up with everybody. Yugi's seeing a psychiatrist and needs his friends to be there with him." Tristan tried to block out Duke's presence.

"Hey, can I come along with you." Serenity eagerly replied.

"Sure ya can." Tristan answered too happily. He opened the door for Serenity to get out.

"Well Seren, I gotta get outta here." Duke said looking over his shoulder. Serenity leaned in and kissed him affectionately. Tristan felt the blood in his veins boiling as the seconds passed. The kiss was abruptly ended by the sound of three screaming girls in cheerleader outfits running high speed in their direction.

"There he is. Catch him, quick before he drives off."

"Damn, they've caught up already." Duke said. He flashed Tristan a smile as he pushed a lock of his black hair out of his eye only for it to fall right back in place. Serenity giggled.

"Hm, they're relentless." She added.

"I'll pick you up later on." Duke cracked another smile. "See ya Tristan." With that he sped up the block and rounded a corner.

"Love ya." Serenity yelled as she waved to him. Duke waved back just before leaving their sight.

"Wait Duke, wait! We still love you!" The three obsessed Duke cheerleaders ran trying to catch the car. The taller, brown haired cheerleader took a moment to stop and hiss at Serenity before attempting to catch up with Duke again.

"So Tristan … How's Joey?" The two walked in awkward silence until they heard some commotion behind them.

"I'll get you Wheeler." A woman's voice screamed.

"Oh no!" Serenity gasped grabbing Tristan's hand. "It's one of Duke's cheerleaders again. Quick, we need to get out of here." Serenity tried to pull Tristan across the street but he wouldn't move. She gave him a worried and puzzled look that was answered when he pointed behind them. It was Joey! And he seemed to be running away from Mai.

"Nyeh-heh." Joey looked back at Mai while he was running and didn't notice the two until he almost collided with them. "What the …Serenity! What're ya doin' here?" Joey gave his little sister a hug.

"Tristan told me about Yugi and I wanted to come along." Serenity bubbled.

"Really? That's great Serenity. Me and Mai was just about ta meet up with them now. Ain't that right Mai?" Joey turned around to find Mai. She was right behind him and did not look happy. "Oh come on Mai. You aren't still mad about that-" but Joey didn't even have a chance to finish. With one swift movement Mai used all her power to deliver direct contact between her heel and his groin. His eyes bulged and he held in a mighty yelp as the pain surged through his most private of areas.

"Oh no Joey. Are you alright?" Serenity rushed to her big brother's aid.

"Don't worry about me." Joey spoke to her in a hardly audible voice.

"Would you two give us a minute?" Mai asked. "We'll catch up." Serenity was about to protest but Joey gave her the okay. Once they were out of sight, his knees buckled and Joey was on the ground.

"Gyahh!" Joey yelled. He took a few deep breaths to regain his cool but he still was in too much pain to get off of his knees. "You play too rough. Don't do that anymore." Joey remarked childishly.

"Oh you poor baby. Did I hurt you? Get over it." Mai told him. Joey started to get back on his feet very slowly. Joey's grin began to appear once again.

"Well, I could get over it sooner … if you kiss it and make it all better." Mai raised a threatening hand. "Just kidding, just kidding." Joey laughed. He really didn't want to get hit again. Mai helped him up and they ran (well Joey kinda limped) to catch up with Tristan and Serenity.

It was three o'clock and everyone was now at the game shop except Tea and Bakura. The gang wondered where they could be. There was a nervousness that clouded the area. Solomon eagerly waited for everyone to leave upstairs. Yugi, Joey, Mai, Tristan, and Serenity waited for the other two outside. The tension grew with every passing second. It was only a few minutes but by the time Tea and Bakura's figures were visible, it seemed like hours. Bakura seemed to be pleading with Tea. He looked as though he was trying to console her, but Tea didn't look like she needed consoling. Seeing something new caused everyone to become extremely curios. They stayed very quiet, straining their ears to hear what they were saying.

"Please Tea. You have to forgive me. I can't control what he does." Bakura needed to know that there were no hard feelings between them. His Yami spirit had taken control of his body earlier that day and said something to her. He hadn't heard what he said, (the spirit made sure of that) but he knew from the surprised look on her face when he regained control again, it couldn't have been anything appropriate.

"For the last time, don't sweat it Bakura. He didn't threaten me or hurt me or anything like that. You worry too much." Tea was growing annoyed.

" You don't have to hide it from me." Tea wrapped her arms around the worried boys neck.

"Look. Listen and listen good. He didn't make me mad and he didn't make me mad at you. If he ever does I promise to tell you first, okay."

"Okay." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good." She laughed as she messed up his hair playfully. "Now lets get going because everyone is staring at us." Realizing that they had been caught everyone pretended to not be listening. Joey turned his head and badly acted as though he had just spotted them.

"Hey look you guys, it's Tea and Bakura." Everyone else acted surprised as well.

"So … let's get goin' everybody." Yugi chimed in. " Thanks for coming. I mean it this time."

"Its okay Yugi. We should have agreed to come in the first place." Tea replied coming up to his side.

"Yeah bud. We've gotta stick togetha' on this one." Joey rushed to his other side.

"We'll show that quack that you're no psycho." Tristan ran up to the gathering crowd.

"And even if you are … You have … people who like you anyway?" Mai couldn't say anything helpful. She wasn't going to make that psychiatrist think that she had problems too.

"My big brother will protect you Yugi." Serenity joined the bandwagon grabbing on to Joey. "Isn't that right?" she flashed Joey a confident smile.

"Uh … he-he." Joey wasn't too sure about that one.

Bakura laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "This may be our greatest battle yet. But we always pull through. This time wont be any different."

"He's right Yugi." Yami's translucent form appeared. "We've come too far to let this woman scare us."

"Whatever crosses our path, we'll get over it …together." Yugi told his friends. But there was one thought on everyone's mind.

_**Man, this really sucks.**_


	2. Chapter 2

"We are here to see Dr. Clarington." Yami informed the secretary outside of Dr. Clarington's office. He had a very serious, no nonsense look on his face. The elderly woman behind the desk smiled up at the group that had gathered.

"You must be her 4 o'clock, Yugi Motto." She stood up and walked around the large desk. "And these must be your little friends. My you are some very handsome young people." She said pinching Yami's cheeks. "She'll be back in a moment, just sit down right over there." She pointed to some couches near the door.

As they walked over to the couches the secretary walked over with them. Joey felt a bit disturbed by the way that she kept sizing him up and down. It was like she was checking him out. He felt …violated.

"So what are your names?" They all took turns telling the woman their names and she wrote them down. "Oh, look at you all, so young and full of life. Why look at those crazy hair-do's." The woman messed with Yami's hair. "And the clothes." She took this opportunity to size up and cop-a-feel all the guys. She looked over at Bakura. "What did you say your name was?"

"Uhm, Ryou. Ryou Bakura."

"I knew it. You do have an accent. I remember back when I was your age, there were so few foreign kids, that anyone with an accent could have anyone they wanted. And by anyone, that usually meant me." She winked at him. Bakura could only muster a nervous laughter. He was ready to go home now. The sound of the elevator grew and Dr. Clarington appeared. Yami was the first to jump up.

"Dr. Clarington, my friends have come like you asked." Yami announced.

"Yes, this is Joseph Wheeler, Serenity Wheeler, Tea Gardener, Ryou Bakura, Mai Valentine, and Tristan Taylor. Aren't they just adorable?" The elderly woman informed.

"Mrs. Ganglier, what are you doing? You aren't scheduled until 6:00." Dr. Clarington didn't seem too surprised.

"I know but I decided to get in a bit of overtime today. I have to earn my keep you know." Mrs. Ganglier escorted them all into the office after Dr. Clarington. "Well I'll be outside if you need me." Before exiting, Mrs. Ganglier gave Tristan a firm pinch on his right cheek. (Unlike with Yami, the cheek she pinched wasn't on his face.) Tristan jumped with a yelp.

Once the old woman left, Dr. Clarington apologized. "I'm sorry about Mrs. Ganglier." Dr. Clarington told the group. "She's my 6 o'clock but she has this idea that she's my secretary. Well let's get down to business, shall we? I've created a little area for us over there." She pointed to a small area with small armchairs and love seats situated in a circle. There was one small wooden chair at the edge closest to the door.

Dr. Clarington took that seat while everyone else situated around her. "Now I want to make perfectly clear what we will be doing so don't get alarmed. Today I want to ask a few questions, just get the basic idea of what all off you are like, your relationships, what you guys have done. Okay?

"Now don't panic. Afterwards, I want to speak with Ryou privately. Tomorrow, Joseph, then Tristan, Mai after that, Tea, and then Serenity. So since today is Thursday, Joseph will come on Friday, Tristan Saturday, Mai Sunday, Tea on Monday, and Serenity on Tuesday. Is that all right with all of you?" She flashed them all an innocent smile. No one favored the idea but Mai and Serenity were really panicked. They hadn't known Yugi as long.

"Dr. Clarington, what about me?" Yami asked.

"Well you don't have to come back Yugi. You've already seen enough of me." She focused her attention on Bakura. "So Ryou, tell me a bit about yourself." Ryou told her some things about his life and moving to Domino. Every now and then she would scribble things down in her note pad. Once he was done her eyes quickly focused on his Millennium Ring. "So tell me Bakura where did you get that?" She pointed to it causing Bakura to feel the pressure again.

"That, oh my father got it for me when he was traveling in Egypt." She made a few more notes and turned her attention to Tea who was sitting in the next chair over. "And what about you? Tell me about yourself." She continued this kind of questioning throughout the entire group. Uncertainties were settling as everyone started to feel a bit more at ease.

"Well that went well. Now it's time for open discussion. How did you guys meet up? How long has everyone been friends? Anything you would like to get off your chest? I'll start it off by telling everything I already know. All of you seem extremely knit. Tea and Yugi have been friends for the longest. Then Joseph and Tristan came into the picture.

"Yugi's grandfather taught Joseph how to play Duel Monsters. This man … Pegasus, he held the soul of Yugi's grandfather captive so Yugi and Joseph battled through Duelist Kingdom to get it back. That's where all of you became better friends with Bakura and met Mai. After winning back the souls of Yugi's grandfather and the Kaiba brothers, some of you were trapped in a virtual world.

"Then after learning the origins of Yugi's spirit, the four of you," she pointed to Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Bakura "entered the Battle City tournament where mishaps such as kidnapping and brainwashing took place, but everyone survived up to the finals. Many of you were hurt so on and so forth until a virtual boy intercepted the blimp and …" she looked at the wide eyed group. "I'm sorry did I lose you?" No one said anything.

"**_All right we can't play ignorant so lets just go with it. If we don't, Yugi will seem insane."_** Bakura thought to himself. "Oh no you didn't lose us, in fact, why don't we just start our discussion now."

"Of coarse." Dr. Clarington agreed.

"Dr. Clarington, do you think I'm insane?" Yugi asked. While Dr. Clarington was talking Yugi had taken over his body again.

"Of course not." **_That poor deluded child. _**"Any who, lets get going. Now Bakura, everything that I said, is it true? Did you guys really have such fantastic adventures?"

"Yes, we did. We all got through it together." Bakura was anxious to see what her reaction would be. He expected a funny look or a head gesture or at least a bit of surprise. But Dr. Clarington's face did not change.

"So what would you say your friendship with Yugi is like?" Dr. Clarington asked her second question.

"Our bond is stronger than any other force on the planet. Nothing could break us apart. Right Guys?" Tea quickly included herself in the conversation.

"Right!" everyone except Mai answered. But everyone including Mai was thinking the same thing. **_Great there she goes again._**

"It's true. We all went through that stuff and we're still here because our friendship can get us through any challenge."

"Well isn't that sweet." Dr. Clarington smiled. "I can see where Yugi gets all of his strength from. But have there ever been any moments of doubt between any of you? Any circumstances that could have hurt your close friendship?"

"I've never doubted any of my friends and I never will. And we're such great friends because there have been a lot of times when our friendship was at risk but we wouldn't let it stop us." Dr. Clarington nodded as she wrote down more notes.

"Mai, you seem awfully quiet. What are your thoughts about friendship?" Dr. Clarington was trying to get people to speak for themselves.

"Me? Well I'm not against the friendship thing but I'm not as dependent on it as some of the other guys." She was thinking about Tea and Yugi especially. " I mean, after being by yourself for so long having people that care about you is the greatest," now she was thinking especially about Joey. " But if you ask me sometimes knowing that you can tough it out by yourself is what really makes you strong."

**_Thank the Lord! Someone who isn't delusional!_** Dr. Clarington thought to herself. She wrote down a note of some questions she could ask Mai. "Well that seems alright." She smiled brightly at Mai. She could see Tea glaring at Mai from across the circle. "I can see there is a contrast on views in this group. How do the rest of you feel? Are your views more like Tea's or like Mai's?" There was a dead silence in the room. "Alright, let's try someone who hasn't spoken much. Serenity what are your feelings about friendship."

Serenity meekly looked around the room for help and was met with a reassuring look from Joey. "Well, I think I agree more with Tea. I don't know what I'd do without my friends. I'd be lost, especially without my best friend in the whole world. My big brother, Joey. He gives me the strength I need to go on and protects me. I don't think I could function without him or anyone else for that matter." She looked back around the room to make sure she said the right thing, which was noted by Dr. Clarington.

"How about you, Joey? Are your thoughts about friendship more like Tea's or like Mai's?" Joey took this into consideration for a moment before answering.

"Well, from what's been happenin' over time, I've learned that having your friends by ya side can really lighten the load of a challenge, and can push you ta try ya best. So I guess in that way I'm more like Tea." Dr. Clarington nodded her head in agreement along with most of the others. "But…" Joey paused because he could feel Tea's eyes piercing into him from across the room. "I've also realized that some of my greatest work's been done when I do things myself. So, in all, I guess that makes me agree more with Mai."

"You would." Tea said, hardly loud enough for anyone to hear. Of course, with her mind reading like psychiatrist abilities, Dr. Clarington did hear it and took note.

"Hmm, I sense a need for a change in style. How about we play a game?"

Everyone except Yugi looked confused. "In this exercise, I will pick a name from this group and ask the rest of you the first word you would use to describe that person. The first person we'll be talking about is…Tristan. Let's start with Yugi and work our way around."

At this time, Everyone studied the way in which they were situated. To the right of Dr. Clarington was Yugi. Next to him was Bakura and Tea on a sofa. Also on the sofa was Serenity, and Tristan sat on a chair beside her. Next was Joey who was sitting in a comfortable armchair but nervously moved to its armrest, leaving Mai who preferred to stand behind Joey's chair. The plan was to be able to allow Joey to squeeze her hand if he was nervous, which Joey had been doing since that last question he'd been asked. No one seemed to notice, except Dr. Clarington of course, with her super psychiatric powers. "So Yugi as soon as you're ready you can start."

"Determined." Yugi said confidently, moving on to Bakura.

"Positive." He said. Tea thought of something to say.

"Reliable" Tea said remembering how Tristan was able to contact a plane for Joey at the duel tower. They moved on to Serenity.

"Friend." Serenity said innocently, making Tristan almost fall off his seat crying. He refused to accept that Duke had asked her out first. Like always, Dr. Clarington took note of that. Skipping Tristan, they moved to Joey.

"Family." Joey said nudging his still crestfallen friend. Mai grinned.

"Smitten." Everyone held in a grin, including Dr. Clarington. Everyone except Serenity that is. Poor naïve Serenity still didn't get it.

"Alright, how about Serenity next. Yugi?"

"Sweet." Yugi said without much thought.

"Innocent." Bakura said with about the same amount of thought. Tea had to think a little before she spoke.

"Vulnerable." She said after a while. Tristan looked at her wantingly.

"Taken." Serenity still looked puzzled causing Tristan to almost fall again. Joey looked deep into his little sister's eyes.

"Inspirational." Serenity began to blush a little bit and smiled happily.

"Naïve." Mai said, kind of breaking the moment. If Dr. Clarington were allowed to make judgments, she would have agreed with Mai, but that wouldn't be fair. Who was she kidding? She's a psychiatrist! Her job is to make judgments…for the sake of professionalism; we'll call them assessments.

"Now let's do Bakura." Dr. Clarington said after a moment. Yugi had a difficult time trying to say something about Bakura, being that he had two different halves. After a while, Yugi decided to try to play it safe.

"Bilateral?" Yugi said meekly. Both he and Bakura awkwardly cleared their throats in discomfort.

"In one word, I'd have to say RYOU BAKURA is proper." Tea said nodding to everyone in the room.

Tristan thought of a good thing to say. "Diverse."

Serenity looked around at everyone confused. She had never seen the other side to Bakura. "A gentleman." She looked around. "Right?"

Joey considered his options carefully. He took a look at Bakura and started to chuckle. "Sissified." He laughed.

"Oh thanks mate." Bakura said sarcastically. Bakura was sitting with his legs crossed but suddenly noticed it and uncrossed them.

Mai had the hardest time trying to think of something to say. Everyone sat in his or her chairs, on edge, waiting for her answer. That included Dr. Clarington, who believed that whatever she said would be true. After a while, Mai answered. "British?"

Everyone in the room was finally able to breathe again. The room filled with nervous laughter. "Let's try Joey, now. Yugi?" Dr. Clarington resumed.

"Awesome." Yugi smiled.

Bakura grinned too. "Loud mouthed."

"Okay, I had that one comin'." Joey admitted.

"You most certainly did." Bakura agreed. When they moved on to Tea she looked angry, but she wasn't really looking at Joey. Dr. Clarington could tell that she was thinking about Mai.

"Exploited." She muttered. Joey looked at her confused, Mai looked angry, and almost everyone else looked tense. There was a long silence before the even more confused Serenity spoke up.

"The greatest."

"Family" Tristan, reiterated what he had said about him. Finally it was Mai's turn and her gaze was focused back at Tea as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mine." She said venomously. Once again there was silence before Dr. Clarington resumed.

"I can't help but feel some tension between you two." She said, pointing at Tea and Mai. "Is there anything you would like to get off your chests?"

"No. It's a dead issue." Tea answered.

"Something tells me that it's not."

"Yeah, Tea." Mai interrupted. "Something's telling me that it's not too."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Sorry it took so long. School and whatnot. Well this is the next chapter. After this is Ryou's private evaluation. Read and Review as always._**

"Mai you shouldn't." Joey protested.

"No, no. I think Dr. Clarington wants to know exactly why Tea seems to dislike me so much, and keeping it all in and pretending it never happened, won't make it go away. Besides, I think there are a few things that should be made public to certain members of this group." Mai answered, squeezing the back of Joey's chair.

"Fine by me." Tea crossed her arms. "I think I'll go first. You don't mind do you Mai?"

"Of course not." Mai cast a dark look back at her.

"You see Dr. Clarington, ever since we first met I knew that Mai was trouble. She's the kind of girl that messes with guys heads and then sucks them dry emotionally and financially. She didn't give a flip about Joey when she first met him but tried to play the friendship card when it fit her best interests. But I can tell she's not really sincere about whatever feelings she claims to have for Joey because she double crossed him enough times. I don't even know why Mai bothered coming over here today.

"Her main priority is herself and she loves to try making me look dumb because I actually care about my friends."

"Come on Tea, you know that's not true. I know, Mai's had her issues; we all have, but that's going a little overboard." Joey said, trying to protect Mai.

"It's alright Joey. Tea's just saying that to hide why she really hates me, and I think it's time that everyone else knew why too." Mai walked around to the front of Joey's chair and sat down on the armrest. She took a second to look back at Dr. Clarington and smile before returning her gaze back at Tea.

"Mai don't, please." Joey pleaded.

"No, it's fine. What kind of friends are we if we keep secrets? The truth is Tea hates me because she's insanely jealous of Joey and me. You see not too many people knew but Tea and Joey used to have a thing for each other."

All around the room, eyes bugged out of their sockets. Tristan, who had known about it previously, looked around nervously while everyone else stared at the two, confused. Once again, Dr. Clarington scratched furiously in her notes but kept an open ear for whatever else might be said.

"Is that true?" Yugi asked Joey.

"What kind of 'thing'?" Serenity asked.

"The kind of thing that starts off as a crush, turns into flirting and finally escalates into a full blown relationship. That kind of thing." Mai answered. "The only problem was that they hooked up a bit too late. They'd only been together for two days before they were on a boat to Duelist Kingdom."

"And that's when he met you, wasn't it?" Dr. Clarington asked, remembering that Yugi had told her that they met Mai on their way to confront Pegasus.

"Exactly. I'll admit I didn't think much of Joey at first. To me, he was just another loud mouthed duelist who took one look at my breasts and started drooling. But he won me over eventually. It became hard not to. He told me about how he was fighting for his sister, so that she would be able to see again. I never had anyone care about me that way. I was a loner, but he took me in and made me his friend, whether I wanted to be or not.

"Tea was skeptical that anything that Joey and I felt was real because Joey had broken it off with her the minute they walked off the boat. She's just mad because Joey knows a real woman when he sees one."

"That's not true!" Tea stood up. "I'm just worried about my friend. So what if we were together. It only lasted two days! You've been in and out of Joey's life so often it's driving him insane. You stay just long enough for him to give his hopes up and then you're gone again because you have to be some mysterious loner. It's sick and friends don't do that to each other."

"Hey I have an excuse for my actions!" Mai said standing up as well. "You wouldn't believe the struggles I've gone through this past year and sometimes a girl needs to set aside some time to think. Joey knows how to contact me and that I'd never abandon him, but if wanting to get away from all of the pressure makes me a bad friend, then I guess that's that, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving his life now. I understand him, unlike you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being mad about loosing Joey to me and then going out with Bakura, when it was obvious that Yugi's had a crush on you since the very beginning." Mai blurted out quickly.

Yugi, Bakura, Joey's faces suddenly turned very pink. Tea turned and looked at Yugi shocked and embarrassed.

"Really Yugi?"

"Oh don't tell me you didn't notice. It's as obvious as the sun coming up at midnight." Everyone was surprised to hear Bakura, of all people, say.

"You knew?" Tea turned to Bakura with embarrassment.

"Who didn't? Joey knew when the two of you were going out for those brief two days, that's why he wasn't in a rush to tell everyone about it. I figured it was obvious enough. When you two never got together, I just thought that you were ignoring it because you didn't want to have to turn him down."

Tea stood there, looking at Yugi and then at everyone around the circle for a while before she was able to speak. "I don't know what to say. Everyone knew that you had a crush except me, Yugi?

"I didn't realize everyone knew either. The only people I thought were aware of it were…" Yugi looked around at his friends "well… funny enough, the only people I was sure knew about it were Joey and Bakura."

"I came up to Yugi after we got together and asked him if it was okay that we were going out now." Bakura admitted.

"And you gave him your blessings?" Dr. Clarington asked Yugi.

"What else could I do? I didn't think Tea would ever want to go out with me and I just wanted her to be happy." Yugi said, looking down at his hands.

"Are you sure about that?"

Tea sat back down at her spot next to Bakura and remained silent. Mai followed her lead and sat down on the armrest of Joey's chair. However, Joey took her hand and sat her down on his lap instead. They sat in silence for a while longer while Dr. Clarington jotted down a few more notes.

"Does anyone have anything to say now that this has been laid before us?" For a second, no one spoke.

"I'm really sorry I never told ya about me n' Tea. I knew ya liked 'er and I guess I was afraid you'd be upset." Joey apologized.

"I'm fine Joey."

"Me too Yugi. I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to your feelings. And Mai, I'm sorry for being so mean to you. I guess I was kind of jealous of you and Joey. I wanted to think that he was just being superficial by dumping me like that after he met you. It was wrong of me to label you.

"It's alright Tea. I understand, Joey's a really great guy. I'd be more than upset if I were you."

Despite these comforting words, they still looked wearily at each other. No one seemed to notice. That is of course, everyone with the exception of Dr. Clarington. Once again the silence resumed.

"Well I think that should be enough for now. Remember I want to see you, Ryou, once everyone is gone, so that we can speak privately. But before you all leave I just want to say that the problems you are going through are normal for kids your age. Friendships are challenged everyday, but like you did here, these challenges should be faced with courage and honesty.

"It's healthy to be on 'not-so good' terms with someone. What's important is that confrontations like today's aren't ignored by keeping secrets. Now that these secrets are out in the open, you can recover with a clean slate, and I know your friendship is strong enough to survive it, possibly even to flourish.

"Now that that's been all said and done, is there anyone else that I should talk to that wasn't here today?"

"I think that if there's anyone who should see you, it's Kaiba." Joey said. Suddenly all the solemn faces in the room became smiles, with the exception of Serenity who didn't know Kaiba well enough to form an opinion.

"You really think that I should talk to Seto Kaiba?" Dr. Clarington asked, surprised.

"Definitely." Yugi answered.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. You guys can go now. Ryou you just make yourself comfortable."


	4. Chapter 4

**_After years of waiting, I finally give you chapter four! Review if you wish!_**

Bakura stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as the rest of his friends retreated to the safety of the world outside Dr. Clarington's office. As they left, each person gave Bakura a reassuring look or gesture and promised to meet up with him again once he was done. Finally, the door closed and Bakura was left alone in the room with only the 'good doctor'.

"Is this your first time with a psychologist?" Dr. Clarington asked as she put the chairs and sofas back in their original places about the room.

Bakura nodded his head. Seeing how she was struggling moving some of the bigger pieces of furniture, he instinctively walked over to assist her.

"Oh, thank you very much Ryou." She said, accepting his help. However, it was only after placing the couch in the desired spot, that he realized exactly what he had been moving. The sight of it caused his stomach to grow unbearably cold. The psychiatrists couch. When Dr. Clarington, realized his look, she placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "There's no need to be nervous. I just want to understand you a little better."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not nervous." Bakura blatantly lied.

"Good. Then why don't you just sit down right there and we can have a nice little chat." She smiled, pointing at the couch as she sat down in a chair adjacent to it. Bakura took a mighty gulp before slowly sitting down on the couch.

He'd seen many television shows that started off just like this. The evaluator would ask the patient to sit down on the couch. Next thing, the person is saying he hates his mother and wets the bed, spilling his guts all over the floor, and men in white jumpsuits come to take him to the loony bin, where they pump him up with drugs until he's lost all will to live and walks aimlessly around in a smock and pink bunny slippers. Bakura hated pink! He refused to wear bunny slippers! He had to stay calm! As long as 'you know who' didn't make an appearance, she had no reason to believe he wasn't just a normal kid. Bakura's heart raced as he awaited the first penetrating question.

"So how was your day today?" Dr. Clarington smiled pleasantly.

"Alright I guess." He answered, confused but still on edge.

"That's good. Hit any traffic on the way down here?"

"No actually, we walked."

"Really? Oh yes, well I suppose that might be the case. You're not old enough to drive yet, are you?"

"Yes, it's just we didn't have a car."

"I see. Well, I had a horrible time getting up here. Construction and whatnot." Dr. Clarington gave a soft smile that made Bakura feel embarrassed. She was kind of pretty for an older woman. "Talk with Yugi a lot during your walk?" She asked, shifting gears slightly.

"Um, I don't know. I really can't recall. We might have talked a bit."

"I get the feeling that the rest of your friends are a bit wearier of you than of anyone else."

Bakura fidgeted a bit in his seat. "Maybe. I hadn't noticed it before."

"Are you sure about that?" Dr. Clarington took out her notes and flipped a few pages. "Because from time to time, you get anxious when you're the center of attention. I couldn't help but take note of the fact that you almost seemed panicked about having to talk about yourself. And then again, when each person had to describe you, it got quiet and you looked nervous."

"You noted all that?" Bakura's heart was racing in his chest at a thousand beats per minute. "How many notes did you take on me?"

"I'd say about three pages." Bakura's eyes bulged. He was done for, he knew it. "Oh don't worry. That's light. I must have at least five pages on Mai and Tea alone. It's really nothing to worry about. It's my job to evaluate your interactions with people."

"But that's sociology." Bakura said, becoming confused.

"Yes it is." She nodded. "I minored in sociology, while receiving my Masters degree in psychotherapy. After that I studied work in both psychology and psychiatry." Dr. Clarington pointed toward the left wall where a large display revealed several different diplomas.

"Wait. What's the difference between psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy?"

"Well it's kind of hard to explain completely but… let's just say I've been in school for a long, long, long time."

"How long?"

Dr. Clarington gave a sort of strained smile. She didn't like talking about her age. "Long enough to both evaluate and treat sane and insane individuals, families, and social groups. That's all I have to say about that. Why, do I look old?"

"No, you look quite young actually."

"Thank you." Dr. Clarington returned to her notes yet again. Bakura wondered what exactly she had written on him. "Do you mind if I ask you about that chain on your neck?"

Bakura flinched suddenly. "Um, no I don't mind. My dad got it for me on an expedition in Egypt."

"Yes, you told me that already." She replied with a smile, but a determined look. "It's just that I noticed that Yugi has something similar around his neck. His Puzzle. He said his grandfather gave it to him. Do you know if they are from the same place or…?"

"No!" Bakura blurted out quickly. "I mean… Yes… I mean, they are but…" He grabbed at his head. He was feeling a bit of pressure and he was afraid of loosing control of his body.

"It's ok Bakura; we can change the subject if you want. Do you need something to drink? A glass of water?"

"No I'm fine, really. I just haven't been having a great week."

"Well it's okay to be stressed." Dr. Clarington assured him, putting her notepad down on her lap. You've been thrust into a very stressful situation. But I assure you, you have nothing to worry about here. I'm just trying to understand the kind of people Yugi hangs out with."

"You're right" Bakura's head pain was easing now. **_Things will be fine as long as I can hold HIM at bay! _**"I'm sorry; I don't know what got over me"

"It's fine. I'm used to handling some pretty bad cases so there's nothing a normal kid like you could do that would throw me off completely." Dr. Clarington laughed getting up from her seat and walking around the room. But all the while she kept thinking that he was definitely hiding something very big, and it had to do with the ring around his neck.

She didn't like having to push results out of people, but she had to get treatment for Yugi as soon as possible and she only had one day to interview this character in her office now, so she had to work fast and get some answers.

"You know, I've heard some things about you Ryou."

"You have? What kind of things?"

"Nothing too bad. You seem pretty involved in Ancient Egyptian study."

Dr. Clarington took a deep breath. She was about to either hit gold or fall flat on her ass. Suspicion was the only thing causing her to say this next statement and she prayed she was right or else she'd loose him and anything significant he had to say. She walked over to her desk and pulled out an item she'd used with Yugi as well and walked it back over to Bakura.

"Just like Yugi. You're into Duel Monsters and its Ancient Egyptian origins, right? Isn't that why you both wear those items?" As she said this she put a replica of one of the stone slabs from the museum in Bakura's hand.

Bakura's eyes widened in fear. He could feel the Evil Thief trying to emerge and take over him again. "NO!" Hysterical, Bakura threw the slab replica across the room with so much force that he nearly fell off the couch. Screaming loudly, he writhed in pain, curling into a tight ball.

As he screamed, a side of Bakura's face curled into a malicious grin. A cackle began to emerge.

Years of experience and practice taught Dr. Clarington that it was best to keep her distance and wait out the trauma and to simply make sure he doesn't hurt himself. This display was the warning sound of a very serious mental condition, and she was mentally preparing herself to face what was to come.

Eventually the cackling died down and a very different Bakura sat up on the couch giving Dr. Clarington a look she hadn't seen the boy make before. It was scary and slightly lustful. Slowly, he stood up.

"Ryou?" Dr. Clarington asked, keeping her professional calm. A broad smile surfaced, and he seemed about to speak when without warning, his left arm shot straight out and grabbed the Millennium Ring and snatched it right off him own neck, throwing it across the room.

Bakura immediately painfully screamed out and fell to the floor. This time Dr. Clarington walked up to him and nudged his shoulder. This time, the old Bakura looked back at her with teary eyes.

"Ryou? Are you okay dear?" She'd gotten the result that she wanted but she felt terrible for the boy. Bakura looked up at her, sobbing openly.

"I'm not insane!" Ryou cried. "He's real, he's in that THING!" He screamed determined, pointing at the Millennium Ring. "He takes over me, he makes me do horrible things and I can't stop him. I've been trying so hard. Please, I'm not crazy!"

"I don't think you're crazy Ryou." She assured him. Ryou looked up at her both dumbfounded and exhausted from his struggle. "Just like, Yugi, I don't think you're crazy or insane. I think you're a victim. A victim of something that's completely out of your hands."

Bakura looked up at her with hope. "Really?" He asked, sitting up and trying to pull himself together.

"Really." She smiled at him and patted him on the head. As she stood up she offered him a hand. "Now tell me. How often does this spirit try to take control of you?"

"Not so much anymore" Bakura sniffed. "It's mostly small fragments of him now. He's much weaker since… since his undoing back in Egypt."

"Well, I'll tell you what. You can get your stuff together and head back home, okay. Try not to put the Ring back on if you can help it. And maybe we'll talk again later. Maybe we can figure out a way to help you out."

Not very convinced, Ryou nodded his head and gathered up his things. He gave Dr. Clarington a quick 'goodbye' and left the office, very confused and even more worried. He knew that despite her comforting words, he and his friends were in big trouble.


	5. Chapter 5

"Tea! What are you doing here?" A startled Bakura asked, as he walked into his house and saw Tea sitting down on the couch.

"I just wanted to see you when you got back."

"Oh…"

"How did everything go with Dr. Clarington?"

"Uh…. Fine"

"Bakura?" Tea questioned, becoming concerned. She knew that look.

"Well…." Bakura struggled.

"He… he didn't show up, did he?" Tea gasped.

"Not very long. I was able to fight him off before he said anything" Bakura tried desperately to reassure her.

"He never shows up for very long! He doesn't have the strength to stay very long! Just long enough to make you look like an ass and make people feel uncomfortable, then he conveniently sneaks away!" Tea paced back and forth across the room, throwing her hands up in the air in frenzy. "He knew this was an important day. He KNEW!! Just wait. Bring him out here. I wanna give him a piece of my mind!"

"Tea, please! Be calm."

"How can I! That woman probably thinks you're nuts! What are we gonna do?"

"We simply have to make her believe otherwise." Bakura tried to comfort her by wrapping his arms around her, and holding her close, but he could definitely tell she was anxious. "Who's going tomorrow?" he asked, kissing her lightly atop her head.

"Joey." She whispered, trying to calm herself for Bakura's sake. She knew too much stress was likely to make him vulnerable enough to succumb to Evil Bakura.

"Well then, we'll just call Joey and let him know about what happened and make sure he's aware what should be brought up with his meeting." He replied with a smile.

Tea kissed him quickly on the mouth. "Okay." A sudden pang of guilt was evident in her face before she turned around and walked towards the phone.

Bakura noticed the look and knew what it was about. He grabbed her softly by the arm. "You've been thinking about Yugi?"

"A little;" she admitted, "I feel bad. I didn't realize he felt that way. Did everybody really know?"

"It was a bit obvious. I'm sorry Tea, I thought you knew."

"Don't worry about it Bakura. I'm fine." She smiled weakly. She was obviously faking.

"Look, Tea. Why don't we take some time off?" Tea was about to protest but Bakura continued,"It doesn't have to be forever. Just for a little while. A few days maybe, just to clear our heads. Straighten things out with Yugi a little bit before we go any farther. Just for a while, okay?"

Tea wanted to protest but it was no use. She'd only be lying to herself if she did. "Okay, Bakura. But just for a little while, right?"

"Right." Bakura smiled. But as Tea turned to make the phone call; his smile withered a bit. To be honest, he didn't know if she would come back.

On the other line, Joey furiously scribbled down notes of what had happened with Bakura that day, and what to mention and what not to mention on his meeting. Mai noticed his note-taking and giggled. He was so nervous about having to see Dr. Clarington all by himself. Joey hung up the phone looking defeated.

"What's the matter, kiddo?" Mai leaned over his shoulder playfully.

"Doc thinks Bakura's skitzo. I gotta make him seem normal again; like he was just under some stress or somethin'."

"Well that's bad news." Mai stood up straight and stretched. "But that isn't all you're worried about."

"Look! I ain't scared, okay? I just don't like shrinks, they creep me out."

"Well you did pretty good today. What's the problem? You don't have anything to hide."

"I'm tellin' ya Mai. Those shrinks, they ain't normal people. They can sniff out anything. I don't want some stranger knowin' all these things about me. It just ain't right!"

"Ah, don't be such a baby! I don't like babies!"

"Tough! And ya know what? I ain't goin' tomorrow! That's right, I ain't goin'. Not no way, not no how. Ya can't make me!"

"What if I give you a treat?" she asked seductively biting her lip.

Joey's jaw opened slightly, trying to think of something to retort with. "Uhh..." He tried to think, but Mai walked dangerously close to him and wrapped her arms around him. She tossed her golden mane to the side and smiled.

"What about it? And then I can take you to the zoo to see the monkeys."

"Uh…. Sure, okay!"

"Good."

Joey closed his eyes and puckered his lips. As he did so, Mai pulled a lollipop out of her pocket and pressed it against his lips. He opened his eyes, flabbergast and then pouted as he saw the lollipop.

"Ah, man!"

"Now come on, quickly. We gotta go before the zoo closes.

Mai and Joey jumped into her car and took off down the street towards the center of town. As Mai crazily maneuvered through the streets, they passed Dr. Clarington's office.

Inside, Dr. Clarington desperately tried to convince her "secretary"/ 6'oclock appointment to leave. Once she was finally alone, she sat down at her desk and began to type.

Psychiatric Report 2:

Subject: Ryou Bakura

Analysis:

While interviewing one of Yugi Moto's friends, Ryou Bakura, I stumbled upon a disturbing discovery. Ryou, like Yugi, appears to have an alternate personality disorder. However, unlike Yugi, this alternate personality appears to be a burden on Ryou and seems to do him harm. It seems to me, based on my inferences during the group meeting, to be a manifestation of his pent up aggression, lustfulness, and anger; possibly created by abuse or resentment of an absent father and young Mr. Moto. Once again, the presence of anything Egyptian, (connected to his father and his travels) and the game Duel Monsters (connected to Yugi Moto, the "king of games") sets him off into this defense mechanism. I would recommend immediate treatment of Ryou in a separate facility that Yugi, for fear of conflict.

Once again, another bad report. Another report she prayed was not true. Dr. Clarington did not want to send these kids away. She liked them, and didn't want to think the things she thought. **_Hopefully, the next kid, Joseph Wheeler, would be different. Even better than that_** she thought; **_maybe he could change my mind. _**


End file.
